1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and a method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector comprising a rectangular housing having a receiving cavity for receiving a mating plug connector and a plurality of terminals extending obliquely in the receiving cavity for spring contact with terminals of the mating connector is well known. Japanese patent application Kokai No. 7-106010 discloses such a connector as shown in FIG. 9. This connector 100 comprises a rectangular housing 101 having upper and lower openings and closing members 103 and 104 supporting a plurality of terminals 102.
To make the connector 100, the terminals 102 and the closing members 103 and 104 are formed integrally as a unit. Then, the terminals 102 are bent twice, and the closing members 103 and 104 are mounted in the housing 101. More specifically, the substantially straight terminals 102A and the closing members 103 and 104 are molded integrally in a line. Then, the terminal 102A projecting from the closing member 104A is bent in a direction A to form a contact section 105. Then, the terminal 102A is bent between the closing members 103 and 104 at right angles in a direction B. Then, it is mounted in the housing 101. The contact sections 105 extend obliquely in the receiving cavity such that they make spring contact with the terminals of a mating connector that is inserted into the receiving cavity in a direction as shown by an arrow.
The above connector, however, has such disadvantages as separately forming the housing and the closing members, bending twice the terminals after molding, and mounting the closing members in the housing, making the manufacturing process complicated and pushing up the manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple method of making a connector at a low cost and a connector made by such a method.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a substantially rectangular housing having a receiving cavity extending rearwardly from a front end of said housing for receiving a mating plug connector; a plurality of terminals arranged in said housing at regular intervals, each made by bending a metal pin and having an intermediate section with at least one retention portion retained in a wall of said housing that partially defines said receiving cavity, a flexible section diagonally extending from an end of said intermediate section for spring contact with a terminal of said plug connector, said flexible section and a corresponding portion of said intermediate section lying in a single plane, and a connection section extending from the other end of said intermediate section and projecting from said housing, wherein said terminal is molded integrally with said housing at said retention section. According to the invention, the housing is molded integrally with the terminal at the retention section.
It is preferred that the intermediate section is bent at right angles to form a bend across which there are provided said retention portions that are retained by upper and rear walls of said housing. The intermediate section may have a straight portion that is forward from said bend or said bend may be shifted laterally by a terminal arranging interval.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making such an electrical connector, comprising the steps of assembling a frame mold having front, rear, and lower openings, a front mold attached to said frame mold from front and having on its top at least one channel for receiving said flexible section and a portion of said intermediate section opposed to said flexible section, a rear mold attached to said frame mold from rear and a comb section with at least one tooth entering between said intermediate and flexible sections of said terminal for contact them, and a bottom mold attached to said frame mold from below to form a metal mold; pouring a resin into said metal mold to mold said housing so as to retain said retention section of said terminal; and removing said respective molds to provide said electrical connector.
The method may further comprise the step of providing said comb section with a rear upper face that is equal to or higher than a lower face of said band and a front upper face that makes contact with a lower face of said intermediate section. The method may further comprise the steps of providing said comb section with an upper face of a rear portion that is equal to or higher than a lower face of said band and a front upper face that makes contact with a lower face of said intermediate section; shifting laterally said rear portion by a half of said terminal arranging interval; and moving laterally said metal mold by said half terminal arranging interval after said metal mold is inserted.
According to still another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making such an electrical connector, comprising the steps of assembling (a) a frame mold having front, rear, and lower openings, (b) a front mold attached to said frame mold from front and having on its top at least one channel for receiving said flexible section and a portion of said intermediate section opposed to said flexible section, (c) a rear mold attached to said frame mold from rear and having at least one channel to support said intermediate section of said terminal, and (d) a bottom mold attached to said frame mold from below and having an upper face to support said intermediate section of said terminal to form a metal mold; pouring a resin into said metal mold to mold said housing so as to retain said retention section of said terminal; and removing said respective molds to provide said electrical connector.
The method may further comprises the step of providing said frame mold with a support mold having a retaining channel to retain said intermediate section of said terminal.